Save Article

Kiwi Dollar Takes Fright at New Government

Uncertainty about economic policies, including New Zealand’s central bank targets, sparks a slide

By

James Glynn

Oct. 20, 2017 2:47 a.m. ET

The surprise emergence of a Labour-led coalition government in New Zealand has pummeled the kiwi dollar as global investors contemplate a raft of potential changes to economic policy, including the targets of the country’s central bank.

Despite finishing second in an inconclusive general election, 37-year-old Labour leader Jacinda Ardern emerged victorious after smaller parties agreed Thursday to form a government. The coalition ends nearly a decade of conservative rule that helped propel the island economy to one of the fastest...